The second commendmant and the question of human dignity in Africa : a creation-theological perspective

Abstract

In a context focusing on the Decalogue in relation to the question of human dignity in Africa, two sets of texts interacting with the Second commandment from a creation-theological perspective are analyzed. One is the core of Deuteronomy 4, the other is four passages in Isaiah 40-55, and it is argued that both see the act of making "a graven image" as a perversion of the concept of the human being as created in the image of God. This interpretation of the Second commandment, relating it to a broader creation-theological discourse, may provide an interpretative model for contemporary readers of the Decalogue, in casu in relation to the question of human dignity in Africa.